By 
October 3rd, 2020
Credit: ICON
ICON is an Austin, Texas-based advanced construction technologies company using 3D printing robotics, software and advanced materials.
The group has turned its attention to Moon-construction concepts drawing upon a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Strategic Fund Increase (STRATFI) contract through the U.S. Air Force-managed AFVentures’ “Open Topic” process as well as NASA dollars.
Credit: ICON/Inside Outer Space Screen grab
3D printing with materials found on the Moon, adds the firm, is a sustainable and versatile solution to off-world construction.
Design freedom
In 2018, ICON was the first company in America to secure a building permit to construct a 3D printed home. The organization currently works in Mexico, Haiti, El Salvador, and Bolivia, funding more than 1,400 homes for families in need.
The Vulcan is ICON’s 3D printer designed specifically to produce resilient single-story buildings faster, more affordably, and with more design freedom, according to the group.
Credit: ICON/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Sustainable lunar habitat
“Building humanity’s first home on another world will be the most ambitious construction project in human history and will push science, engineering, technology, and architecture to literal new heights,” said Jason Ballard, Co-founder and CEO of ICON in a press statement.
In moving forward, ICON has established a research and development effort to further “Project Olympus” and the “Olympus Construction System,” and has teamed with the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and SEArch+ LLC (Space Exploration Architecture).
The ICON Project Olympus team is eyeing a sustainable lunar habitat, outfitted with robust structures that provide thermal, radiation, and micrometeorite protection, better than metal or inflatable habitats can offer, according to members of the new partnership.
Go to this informative video on Project Olympus at:
Posted in Space News
